Orthodontics, a branch of dentistry, deals with misalignment of teeth and their correction. Misalignment of teeth may be at least partially corrected by imparting forces to the teeth over a period of time to bring about movements of the teeth toward desired positions. An orthodontic system may be used in such a procedure. An orthodontic system may include, e.g., a wire configured to exert forces, and structural components configured to impart the forces to the teeth involved in the procedure.
Historically, the process of orthodontics to place brackets involves a number of steps and procedures that not only increase the time to attend a patient in a clinical appointment and the likelihood of errors in each step performed by the orthodontist but also may increase the discomfort of the patient. This is at least partially due to the complex shape and the big size of the conventional appliances (brackets), which makes difficult to try to simplify the processes involved.
Additionally, the processes of placing and bonding these big conventional appliances (brackets) require high adhesive forces to sustain not only its own weight and volume but the anchorage of the wires and the auxiliary elements of the orthodontics (elastics, hooks complementary support and devices, among others) moreover the system has to be maintained in place during the chewing forces while the patient eats.
Therefore, there is a need to develop an improved orthodontic system and method to solve the above-mentioned problems. It is to these ends that the present invention has been developed.